Prince Erotokritos – Excels in the School of Life

Fashion is one of the most versatile sectors of the global economy. It is one of the few segments in the world where beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder. While formal education and experience play a vital role in any fashion designer’s success, many will tell you that there is no replacement for passion, creativity, and an intense drive to succeed. Prince Erotokritos would go one step further even, promoting the value of the “school of life.”

Prince Erotokritos was born on the island of Crete and moved to Athens at a very young age with the explicit goal of working in the world of fashion. He brings high energy to every new design and each new line of clothing he creates. His inspiration is, quite literally, the world around him. One of the major factors that sets him apart from his contemporaries is an extensive background at university.

Prince believes that you can succeed if you love what you do, and as long as you have the ability to combine colours, fantasy, and passion. He is a firm believer in the school of life, drawing encouragement and inspiration from his everyday life. In his opinion, there’s no substitute for an inventor with good energy and a mind full of bright ideas.

His Approach to Design

As alluded to earlier, fashion design is unique in that every designer has their own approach to creation and production of garments. While computers and mobile phones are produced by various companies using the same (or similar) concepts, fashion designers bring a great deal of personal creativity and unique visions to bear in creating every piece.

On the whole, the styles created by Prince are full of colour, full of good energy, and full of originality. There’s no set process for developing a new design. For him, new designs and creations come from the moment. As he puts it, “it’s something that comes in the right moment, and you have the whole design finished right there in your mind.”

He does have his own favorite aspect of fashion design, and as some other designers can attest, it’s the preparation stage. Prince loves to be heavily involved in the preparation stage of any outfit because it is the crucial component in making his designs uniquely ‘Prince.’ He admits that it is possible to develop a design in one day, but there are too many variable factors for each different project to say that he could create any piece at any time in just one day.

Photo: Studio Panoulis

Inspirations and Achievements

Prince primarily designs costumes at this point in his career. As he would say, “my statement clothing item is costumes, in this way I can dress all the princes of the world with the ‘Prince Erotokritos’ collections.” He spends very little time on the Internet or with his nose in magazines keeping up with other fashion designers and trends.

Make no mistake, he loves all of the Greek designers and many of the Greek fashion lines. He just doesn’t keep up by reading or surfing the web. He finds inspiration from the fabrics that he carries in his own shops, finds the courage to continue forward with this profession from his son, and rejoices in the views he can see from his hometown of Athens, where the Acropolis is visible from one of his shops.

Many of his latest designs were showcased this past summer at the prestigious Athens Xclusive Fashion Show, which is hosted annually in his new hometown.

What’s In a Name?

If you’re wondering why it’s Prince Erotokrotis, he’ll happily answer that question for you. “I always knew the world of fashion needed a prince, so I became one. My designs are original chic and designed for princes because I love everything about fashion the way a prince would love his castle. My ultimate goal is to design more costumes so the whole world can dress like a prince and celebrate because we are all princes.”

Where to Find Him

For those who are interested in trying some of Prince’s fashion lines, you won’t find them available online right now. He laments that “I just have Facebook right now, and I hope soon to develop my site so I can spread the ‘Prince Erotokrotis’ label around the world.” Should you find yourself in the Greek capital though, there are several Prince Erotokrotis stores located throughout the city.

He does use his Facebook page to keep in contact with fans and develop a wider following, showing off his upcoming appearances and new designs as well. Asked if he had one phrase that could describe his approach and his belief in fashion, it would be “good energy, always.”